Stalker

by Dave Dykema

  In the darkness, the two men hoisted a load from the trunk of the car. It was wrapped up in a dark blanket. When each man grabbed an end and they began walking, it sagged limply in the middle, grazing the ground. It made a sound that caused Dan’s stomach to lurch with dread.

  He studied the contours, and his mind’s eye filled in the blank spots. Dan was positive there was a body underneath the thick wool. Animal or human he couldn’t tell, and they were inside before he had a chance to know for sure.

  And even if they were still outside, what would he have done?

  Seeking Answers

  *1*

  “What do you make of it?” Dan asked Melissa.

  Melissa shook her head, not knowing what to say. Dan told her what happened last night while they were scrunched close together in a dark editing bay, cutting her series together. He said it with such detail that Mel felt like she had come along. It was all so bizarre.

  “It’s hard to say, but it does explain a lot.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Melissa frowned, thinking back. “I always had a feeling they were keeping something from the novitiates. It was the way a few of them circled around, exchanging knowing glances over the punchbowl. Most of the novitiates want in so much that they were oblivious to the actions around them. Kim certainly was. I never brought it up to her because I knew she wouldn’t have the slightest idea what I was talking about.”

  “I think you’re right. She seemed completely surprised by it, but rather than be angry or bitter, she was in awe.”

  “Kim worships the ground Stone walks on. That kind of devotion is alien to both of us. If it were me, I’d have told them to shove it, that I didn’t want to belong to their little club if they couldn’t trust me.”

  “And that raises an interesting question: trust her about what?”

  Melissa stared at a frozen image of Stone on one of the screens, trying to find the answer in his eyes. She saw nothing but a shell of the man. That was the way he always presented himself—distant and aloof with outsiders. How foolish of her to think she could go in and charm the man in a few short weeks. She now realized completely the futility of her actions. She didn’t blow her interview—he would never have opened up to her in a million years. He had an empire to protect. If anything, he enjoyed the attention she showered on him, but that was where it ended.

  Melissa broke her lock with Stone’s eyes and turned to Dan. “How sure are you about this ‘body’ they brought in the back?”

  “Well, it was dark, and the bulk was covered up, but it reminded me of when I used to work for my dad. He was a veterinarian, and I used to help him dispose of the bodies of dead animals that he put to sleep. It sagged just like one of those. There’s no way to prove it. I just have a really deep gut feeling.”

  “Intuition isn’t much to go on.”

  “I know what you’re getting at,” Dan said. “You’re wondering if my ‘body’ just wasn’t a figment of my imagination. I was stalking, and to you that’s basically playing a game. You think I took the game too far.”

  Melissa got defensive. “If I thought it was simply a game I wouldn’t have asked you to do it. But you have to admit, what you said sounds pretty far out.”

  “That brings me back to my earlier question: what is it Stone doesn’t trust some of his people to know about? I’d say bringing an unconscious body in the back answers it pretty well.”

  Melissa turned back to the grainy blown-up frozen image of Stone. What is it you’re trying to hide, you bastard? Why are you afraid of me?

  Dan clearly saw the intent in her stare.

  “Don’t do it, Mel. You’ve already played your part in this.”

  “Do what?” she asked innocently.

  “See Stone again. It’s obvious that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “What if it is? Why shouldn’t I?”

  “Do I have to spell it out for you? The man’s dangerous!”

  “He wouldn’t do anything to me. I’m a public figure. I’d be missed. There’d be an investigation.”

  In desperation, Dan grabbed her hands and held them tightly in his, looking deep within her eyes.

  “You don’t have to go. There’s another way.”

  “Which is…?”

  He could feel the warmth of her hands. He gently caressed them with his thumbs.

  “I’ll talk with Janet. Maybe now that I know what she’s been doing she’ll talk to me.”

  “Do you really think she has anything left to say to you?”

  “I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Probably not. But it’s worth a try, at least.”

  The idea didn’t sit well with her, but she wondered how much of that was jealousy coloring her opinion. She looked back to Stone and saw no answers in his eyes.

  Softly, she said, “Okay.”

  *2*

  Janet kicked off her shoes, slumped on the couch, and lay back to relax when three terse raps fired off against her door. She groaned and rose, grumbling her way across the room, while the pattern repeated itself urgently.

  “Who’s there?” she said loudly through the wood. In this day and age it wasn’t safe for anyone to open his or her door blindly. Ironically, she understood that she was part of the cause of the current paranoia running rampant throughout the city.

  “Janet? It’s me. Dan.” He knew she would be there because he watched her come home through the window of a bookstore across the street, pretending to be absorbed in the latest bestseller from the paperback racks.

  It took a moment, but finally her door opened, stopping when the security chain took hold. Janet poked her face through the crack.

  “What do you want?”

  Dan didn’t really know how to phrase this, or where to begin. He decided on the casual approach.

  “How are you doing?” he asked, managing a smile.

  Janet almost pitied him. As he stood in the dim hall, trying to talk with her through the gap between the door and the jamb, he reminded her of the first boy that asked her for a date, and the way he was so unsure of himself, although he tried to present a cool picture of control.

  “I’m okay…I guess. And you?”

  “Fine,” Dan said, nodding his head. His hands were still in his pockets, invisible from the wrists down.

  “That’s good.”

  Both tried to read the mood of the other as they awkwardly gawked—neither with success.

  “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he asked after a long silence.

  “I’m not sure I should,” she said.

  “Why not?”

  “Because things would be better if you and I just forgot about each other.”

  Dan sighed. Even though it had been over for a couple months, the words still hurt.

  “Well, I came for a couple of reasons. First, I thought you might like Jerry’s address.” One of his hands finally emerged from a pocket and held a crumpled piece of paper with the WKBC logo in one corner. It was from a memo pad at work. He gingerly placed it in the rift open to her apartment.

  Janet took it from him, looking over the address written on it. She hadn’t allowed herself to think of Jerry since their last lunch the day he left town. She lightly stroked the surface of the paper like a blind woman reading Braille, fondly remembering times past. Dan thought he saw a hint of a smile curl the corners of her mouth.

  “Have you talked with him recently?” she asked softly.

  “I did a few weeks ago. He told me he was thinking of buying a small cabin up north, in the hills, around the Traverse City area. Can you believe that?”

  “He always liked the snow,” she said more to herself than to Dan, musing affectionately about Jerry.

  “Yeah. Well, things seem to be going nicely up there. MSU was a little different than he thought, but I guess that’s to be expected.”

  “I guess so…”

  And like that, the topic of Jerry was spent. Janet was genuinely thankful for the update, but felt her chemistr
y with Dan was gone. Talking with him was like receiving a package from the UPS man—pleasantries exchanged, but nothing else.

  “What was the other reason you came?” she asked.

  Dan cleared his throat. He suddenly didn’t want to continue. He could make up something quick and avoid his real reason. Melissa and he could credit their overactive imaginations for causing a ruckus and let it go at that.

  But Dan couldn’t let it go. And he knew Mel never would either. They had to see this through to some kind of satisfactory conclusion.

  “I saw you go into Reverend Stone’s church a while back. What’s going on?”

  There. Blunt. To the point. He waited to see her reaction.

  She recoiled from him in shock, taking in a sharp gasp of air. After a nanosecond of indecision, she tried to slam the door. Dan shot his foot in the gap. The edge of the wood bit sharply into the bone.

  “Whoa! Hold on a second!” he shouted. His foot felt like it was in a vice, pinned between the door and the jamb. “Shit, Janet, what’s the deal?”

  She continued to press on the door, leaning her full weight into it. No matter how painful, Dan was not going to give up his blockade. He’d no doubt struck a chord, and he wasn’t leaving until he’d heard a symphony. He leaned his broad shoulder into the wood, pushing back. She fought with a manic strength, but she was no match for him. Finally, he made some headway, and was able to shift his foot to a better position. He looked down and saw a deep crease in his shoe leather.

  Janet gave an exasperated sigh and backed away from the door, giving up. She moved out of sight.

  “Why are you so scared that I know? What has he done to you?” Dan called desperately through the crack. “Has he threatened you if you talk to others about him?”

  Silence. All Dan heard was his own breath rasping heavily in his lungs and coursing hotly through his flaring nostrils. His pulse pounded his temples like timpani drums.

  “God damn it, Janet! Talk to me!”

  Janet stood in a corner of the room, her back turned to the door, hands pressed over her ears. She tried to shut him out, but his voice droned on and on, even when he didn’t speak, ricocheting around in her brain like a ball on a racquetball court. First he was pleading, then demanding. She began to cry, her shoulders heaving. She couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Just go away!” she screamed.

  “No!” Dan hollered back. “Open this door and let me in, or God help me, I’ll smash it down!”

  One apartment down Mrs. Hardy dared to open her own door a crack and stare out through the slit, wondering what on earth was going on in the hallway. She could hear the strain in Janet’s voice as it cracked. She saw Dan pounding a fist against Janet’s door and recognized him as the same man who had played out a similar scenario a few months back. She ducked back in when Dan shot her a steely glare, fastening her draw chain back in place. She wrung her frail arthritic hands, wondering what to do.

  Dan felt ashamed of his actions. He knew he had senselessly frightened the old woman, but he couldn’t dwell on what he had done—not if he wanted any kind of results.

  He listened again, and now he could hear the hiccup of her sobs as they struggled their way out of her shuddering form. Thinking of Mrs. Hardy, he lowered his voice some.

  “Janet, please. We’ve got to talk!”

  “We’ve got nothing to say! You know nothing about Reverend Stone!”

  Her sudden reappearance in the doorway startled Dan. Mascara streaked down her cheeks. She wiped at her tears with the back of a sleeve, sniffling.

  “I know more than you think.”

  “Like what?”

  “That he’s manipulative. That he’s an egomaniac. That he’s a misguided crystal worshipper, demanding total submission from his followers,” Dan listed, wondering if he was having any effect or whether she was in too deep and blinded by Stone’s faults. “Shall I go on?”

  “You sound jealous of him.”

  “That’s ridiculous!”

  “Is it? You think I left you for him.”

  “That’s not true!”

  “Why do you keep hounding him then? He’s a strong man who knows what he wants and is willing to share. It’s more than I got from you. What’s wrong with asking for a little devotion in return?”

  “If he’s so great, why don’t I believe you? You’re saying all the right words, but I don’t sense any conviction behind them.”

  That was true. She was breaking down before his eyes, at one moment hiding from the fact that he knew about her membership in Stone’s cult, trying to drive him away, and the next steadfastly defending the man. He could see the contradictory struggle in her face. He sensed that she wanted to tell him more, but was afraid to.

  All this was a gut feeling, but one Dan felt was strong enough to act upon.

  “Melissa and I know that there are things going on there,” he let drop to see how she’d react.

  “How can you possibly? Melissa only knows the most rudimentary fundamentals of our way of life. I taught her myself.”

  “You didn’t teach her about the bodies brought in the back. I had to see that myself. If she’d stayed long enough, what would you have told her about that?”

  The color drained from Janet’s face.

  Dan pushed on.

  “She’s not satisfied with what she knows. She plans to keep coming back again and again as long as it takes for her to get some answers.”

  It was an empty threat, but Dan felt lucky, willing to push to the extremes.

  “Is your group responsible for the Dumpster Killings? I’m sure the police would be very interested to hear about the late night activities Stone’s conducting over there.”

  When Janet finally spoke she had lost her spirit, as if she had been kicked in the stomach.

  “You have no proof of anything. You’re trying to scare me.”

  “And doing a pretty good job of it too, by the looks of you.”

  Janet’s hands flew to her face, where she stroked her cheeks, feeling to see if they were flush. Instead, the skin felt cold, clammy. She noticed her fingers were trembling. She took a deep breath, looking down, avoiding his eyes.

  “If you care anything for Melissa, drop this right now. You’ve no idea how dangerous he can be.” The words were spoken quickly, rapid-fire.

  “Who? Stone?”

  “Just forget you ever met him, for her sake as well as yours. Don’t let her go back there.”

  “Why? What will he do?”

  “I’ve said enough already.” She looked up at him, her eyes pleading. “Please. Go.”

  Over the last minute Dan let his footing slip in the door, removing his anchor. He had kept it forged in the gap when the words got heated, but once she started to open up he let his stance relax, changing to a nurturing posture. Before he knew it, Janet slammed the door with lightning speed.

  “Janet! Open the door! Janet!”

  He immediately began pounding his fists on the door again, harder than before.

  “Janet, for God’s sake, what’s that supposed to mean? Janet!”

  He kept up his barrage, even after his fists became numb and white—he had pummeled all the color out of them. Only when it became painfully obvious that she wasn’t coming back did he cease, withdrawing his throbbing hands. Handling a camera would be difficult tomorrow.

  He slumped down, leaning his back against her door, wondering where to go from here. It didn’t take long for the image of Mrs. Hardy darting back into her apartment and bolting the door to develop in his mind. She probably already called the police. If a car were in the area, officers would be climbing the stairs at any moment. He had to get out of there.

  He dashed down the hall seconds later.

  *3*

  The man in the hall ducked farther into his alcove as Dan ran past. The narrow nook once housed a telephone when the residents of the brownstone all shared a common phone when the invention was new. The phone had been removed decades ago, but
the small wooden bench still remained. The man slid down the varnished plank of wood and hugged the wall, recessing into the shadows. He didn’t think Dan saw him in his haste.

  Instead of panicking, a cool smile formed on his thin lips. He had come over for a quick poke, but this was much better. He had overheard everything.

  After he was sure Dan was gone, Stone emerged from his hiding place, pulled the collar of his coat tight around his throat, and descended the stairs. A minute later he was walking back to his church, whistling a light tune.

  Special Session

  *1*

  The phone woke Janet. After her confrontation with Dan she laid back down on the couch, trying to forget everything, wishing she hadn’t said anything, but couldn’t relax. Exhaustion finally overtook her in the end.

  She opened one eye to a slit and glanced foggily about the room. The blinds were still wide open, allowing in the orange sodium glare of streetlights. Long shadows filled her dark apartment. Janet experienced a brief moment of confusion when she wasn’t sure where she was.

  The phone rang again. She was afraid to answer, fearing who might be on the other end.

  Just then her machine picked up the call. Janet listened in the dark as her prerecorded message played out, followed by a short tone.

  “Janet, this is Jim.”

  Reverend Stone’s referring to himself using his first name surprised her. He only did that one other time: on the afternoon they had sex.

  “I really need to see you tonight. It’s urgent. I’ll be busy with other matters for a while, so could you make it around ten? I know it’s late, but that can’t be avoided. Please get in touch whether you can make it or not. I’ll be here. You know the number.”

  The machine’s tape whirred for a second more, recording nothing but a whispery hiss, and then clicked off.

  The call puzzled Janet. He didn’t get into any specifics at all. He said it was urgent, yet his voice was calm and casual. It didn’t even suggest disappointment that she wasn’t home and might not get the message in time.